The 64-year-old trainer Kevin Scholl never had won a stakes race until 2023. Last year alone, trainer Brad Cox won 66. Scholl was born and raised in Blanchardville, a small town in southern Wisconsin, going on to ride the fair circuits in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. Cox was born and raised in the shadow of Churchill Downs, going on to win two Eclipse Awards as champion trainer. More divergent career arcs one would struggle to find, but it is Scholl and Cox who send out the principal players Saturday at Fair Grounds in the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes. Cox runs West Omaha, who was not as good as her stablemate, Alpine Princess, finishing second at Fair Grounds in the Untapable Stakes. Scholl on Thursday was shipping Miss Code West from Sam Houston to Fair Grounds. No one she has faced in four starts has been as good as Miss Code West, easily the best horse Scholl ever has trained. Miss Code West comes to the Silverbulletday 4 for 4, having made all her starts at Remington Park. She won three Oklahoma-bred races to begin her career, two at the stakes level, before stepping into open competition Dec. 15 and drawing away to a 6 3/4-length win in the $75,000 Trapeze Stakes, her Beyer Speed Figure lifting from a 65 in her third race to a 79. “I hope she doesn’t get tested, but if she does get tested, I’m hoping she responds,” Scholl said. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Floyd Wethey Jr. has ridden Miss Code West in all her races and keeps the mount in the Silverbulletday, a mile and 70-yard race for 3-year-old fillies that’s part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. Qualifying points toward the Oaks are awarded 20, 10, 6, 4, and 2 to the top five finishers. Eight were entered in the Silverbulletday, with West Omaha the morning-line 2-1 favorite. Miss Code West, by the relatively obscure Lemon Drop Kid stallion Code West, was 8-1 in her debut. She raced in traffic much of the way and came from midpack with a sustained run to win at a five-furlong distance that now appears to be short of her best. She won a second-start sprint on the lead after breaking from the rail, stalked the pace going one mile in her third race, and was back on the lead in the Trapeze, where she led by a couple lengths at the head of the stretch before putting daylight on a decent Steve Asmussen-trained filly named Tx Women for Arts. Wethey eased up in the final 30 yards, the race well in hand. Drawn in post 3, Miss Code West has pace players drawn inside and outside of her, and reverting to a stalking style could be the best plan. “Floyd and I, we just play it off the break and see where she wants to be at the time,” Scholl said. Uncertain where Miss Code West’s next start would come, Scholl didn’t work her back from the Trapeze until Jan. 7, but Miss Code West is fit and ready. “It didn’t take her long to come back. She’s maturing. The biggest thing about her is she loves to run,” Scholl said. West Omaha, coming off a second-start maiden win going seven furlongs at Churchill Downs, was making her first two-turn start in the Untapable. Alpine Princess made an easy lead and controlled the pace as West Omaha raced greenly, losing position past the half-mile pole and going around the far turn somewhat out of rhythm. Long and leggy, and with a high head carriage, the filly extended her stride through the homestretch and made some headway on Alpine Princess to finish a clear second. “I expect her to improve,” Cox said. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Sistina Chapel finished third in the Untapable but lost ground in the final furlong and already has made five starts. Perfect Shot in her last start won a maiden race of suspect quality at Churchill. Accommodate Eva, Play Good Pay Good, Ma Rae’s Girl, and Noriskit Nobiscuit complete the field. ◗ Just Might made a clear lead winning the Richie Scherer Memorial Stakes last month, but the presence of pace players Pirate Rick and Bad Beat Brian on Saturday in the $100,000 Duncan Kenner Stakes will change the race dynamics. Sosua Summer and Minnesota Ready rallied for second and third, respectively, in the Scherer, and both horses would benefit from a contested pace in this 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.